The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) is gearing up to develop digital infrastructure, upgrade e-transaction rules, improve e-transaction system standards and promote digital knowledge among the public as part of its 2021-22 strategic plan.
The draft plan was revealed when ETDA recently held an online conference to gauge feedback from 70 state and private organisations.
A key target of the plan is to increase people's confidence in internet usage by at least 4% per year to reach 85% in 2022.
ETDA executive director Chaichana Mitrpant said his agency is obliged by the Electronic Transaction Act to usher in a strategic plan for e-transaction support.
This draft plan is the third put forward by the agency.
The draft plan was approved by the Electronic Transactions Commission in December last year and is being vetted by the National Economic and Social Development Council. The plan is then forwarded to the cabinet for approval.
The first strategy is to mobilise necessary digital infrastructure to cater to e-transaction activities for economic and social benefits.
The second strategy centres on the development of standards and rules in relation to e-transactions to create confidence among the public in using services.
The third involves levelling up e-transaction system standards to boost the country's competitiveness, while the fourth concerns supporting people's digital knowledge and developing manpower skills in the sphere of e-transactions.
According to Mr Chaichana, ETDA also set up panels responsible for four programmes aimed at steering the strategic plan forward through collaboration between private and state organisations.
The first is called digital ID for economy and society, which focuses on digital identity verification, which has become an important tool for e-transactions.
This year's plan includes establishing a consulting centre that can offer advice on related laws or guidelines for inter-organisational cooperation. In 2022, the agency wants to push for corporate digital ID and national authentication infrastructure.
The second programme -- Thailand's digital services and cross-digital platform standards -- centres on guidelines for the enforcement of laws or related regulations.
The guidelines include ways state and private organisations can exchange information.
The promotion of e-transaction standards includes rolling out a digital service sandbox in which testing of the technology is carried out to ensure security, data privacy, accountability and reliability.
A consulting centre is scheduled to be established this year to provide advice for organisations on standards and regulations.
In 2022, the agency expects to see various successful use cases in e-transactions that capitalise on established standards.
The number of e-transactions is projected to increase by 20% next year from 2021.
The fourth is an e-transaction intelligence centre that involves research and manpower development as well as promoting people's understanding of e-transactions.
Within two years, a standard set of guidelines for e-transactions is expected for public information.
Mr Chaichana said the government is working to establish a consumer protection mechanism for e-transactions that can effectively meet people's needs.
Another goal is a set of guidelines on ways to exchange skilled personnel with e-transaction skills among domestic organisations, as well as incentives that could draw foreign experts to the country, he said.